There’s a lot of Dodge in this shot. A Dodge truck carrying at least six CHP ’74 Dodge Monacos, while passing an old Dodge Dart (a ’63?). However, the Dodge references pass me by quickly and I revert to film mentality. Looking at this, I only wonder how many ended up at the hands of the Blues Brothers.
A load of Bluesmobiles is an appropriate term, even if the Brothers only rode ‘one’ in the film. In reality, about 13 identical ’74 Monacos were used, purchased from police auctions in California. Besides the Bluesmobiles, a great number of carriers would have been needed for the whole production, where about 130 vehicles were destroyed in total.
I’ll admit The Blues Brothers is my kind of dumb movie. I know films only got dumber after that, but I like to think the movie itself is not solely responsible for that downward slope. And I suppose some lament the sacrifice of so many Mopars in the name of silly film fun, but I do miss movies with plenty of car chases.
Talking about which…
And I’m one of them. I’m a huge fan of those ’70s big Dodges and similar Fury models. So many have been sacrificed in the name of derby idiots and films like this, and now many of the few left are being converted to stupid movie and TV clones that it’s hard to find a nice original. Hard to imagine a culture so wasteful and moronic. Then again I never did like sophomoric comedies like that one.
It’s probably not a coincidence that the peak of these massive-car-destruction movies was during the 1979-80 gas crunch when these cars’ resale value would’ve been somewhere between depressed and “get it off my lot NOW”, especially as used-up ex cop cars.
Quite true, but the derby madness and cloning continue.
Even worse, these were big gas guzzlers built by Chrysler, that company that was soon going to be out of business (according to popular sentiment).
Especially since CHP and a lot of the other agencies proximate to the Hollywood film industry bought almost exclusively Chrysler products, even for those who wanted big why would they choose a fleet-stripped, beat ex-cop Mopar when they could have something Fomoco or GM with one careful owner, some luxuries – and a cruising final drive ratio that would hopefully at least get highway MPG into the double digits?
Smokey & the Bandit II got its shares of police cars sacrified as well.
No need to guess then BMW and Mercedes owners would find this a sacrilege if their cars are being tortured in pile-up collision scenes.
That is a pretty diverse range of model years and makes of patrol cars for a 1980 film. Oldest looks like a 1966 or 67 Dodge Polara, then a 1969 Plymouth Fury, to a 1972-1973 Polara. A fair number of GM cars,,namely Pontiacs, including the 1973-1977 Colonnades, the 1978-1980 downsized A bodies, and then the B body Bonneville (which I think Sheriff Buford is riding in).
A totally wild action scene.
And there were a few AMC cars in it, too. 1972 Ambassadors – NOT the Matadors, which were used by the LAPD in the 70s. Ambys weren’t commonly used by LE departments at the time IME.
The majority of cars sacrificed for that were brand-new Pontiacs delivered to one of the major rental companies regional office in Arizona of all places without air conditioning. Apparently it was cheaper for them to sell them as a fleet to the movie people at a steep loss than ship them up north and rent them out there.
Yup, 63. There’s one non-Dodge in the picture, a ’53 Ford hiding on the left of the truck.
I didn’t realize the factory painted black and whites. Assumed the HiPos did their own painting.
All the more enjoyable because all the car stuff is real-even though the stunts were expertly done by professionals. Best of all, there is NO CGI at all in this movie. I`ve seen it many times!
I had not realized that CHP cars only had the front doors painted white and not all 4.
I am a big Blues Brothers fan – if for not other reason than to introduce Cab Calloway to a whole new generation of fans. The man could still bring it in 1980.
Probably a generational thing, but I associated mid-70s black and white Monacos, with the television show ‘CHiPs’. I was too young for ‘The Blues Brothers’, and considered these the official ride of Officer Barry Baricza. Before he made the switch to the Fury-based Monaco.
I was however, heavily into Top 40 radio around 1979/’80. And the Blue Brothers big hits, ‘Soul Man’ and ‘Gimme Some Lovin’, had great energy. They stood out among the many ballads, and remaining disco hits at time. And better than Steve Martin’s novelty hit, ‘King Tut’.
Barry Baricza…
Vintage OPP recruitment video from 1974. Highway cruiser footage, to start the video. I remember the provincial police almost exclusively using the Gran Fury version C-Body from 1974. Switching later, to the Fury-based Monaco.
The cars on the carrier may be destined for the California Highway Patrol, they are painted in the CHP scheme with black rear doors. Also note the black and yellow license plates on the Dart and right side of the carrier. If they are CHP cars, the carrier is probably going to or coming from Swift Dodge in Sacramento. The carrier is a Dodge CNT 900. It has a Farr air cleaner which was usually used on Detroit Diesel engines.
Royal Monaco Brougham was the last Dodge that had any interest for me. As stated in previous posts, I have always been about OTT luxury. These CHP cruisers effectively demonstrate the power of the strong 💪 arm of the law👍.Always enjoyed CHiPs. Great show. As for Blues Brothers, big piece of shit👎! Local police now drive Chargers and SUVS. OLD dog 🐕 wonders W T F?
Well, the car chase scene(s), which seems more like over long, high paced parades and “approved violence”, were sort of fun.
But watching the late and great singers Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, and John Lee Hooker do their stuff was the reason to watch (or listen to) the original Blues Brothers movie many times over.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=ray+charles+sings+in+the+blues+brothers&t=ffab&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DqdbrIrFxas0
I was just talking about the Blues Brothers movie to a friend last week. It’s a totally wonderful celebration of Chicagoland and the music that comes with. The John Lee Hooker scene that leads into the Aretha Franklin diner scene could be watched daily. 🙂
As far as cars being destroyed, and to Stéphane Dumas’ point above, I offer the film Ronan. Lots of destroyed Peugeots and at least one BMW. The story is that 80 cars were killed for this film’s epic chase through Paris.
Plus, no disrespect to John and Dan, but I’d rather watch Natascha McElhone drive. (and there’s actual driving in this film, not just wrecks)
Ronin chase is much better except its too obvious De Niro isnt driving, you dont need to jerk the wheel around at speed in a 406, they steer beautifully at any speed
I read an article that stated DeNiro’s facial expressions showed that he was “terrified” even though he wasn’t really driving! I appreciate the fact that this was a real time chase, not CGI, and through the NARROW European streets! 🙂
Elwood Blues: It’s got a cop motor, a 440 cubic inch plant. It’s got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks. It’s a model made before catalytic converters so it’ll run good on regular gas. So what do you say, is it the new Bluesmobile or what?
[a brief thinking pause while Jake attempts to light a cigarette]
‘Joliet’ Jake Blues: Fix the cigarette lighter.
The Blues Brothers is only one of two musical movies that doesn’t come across to me as forced and robotic. The other is the Who’s Tommy.
Long Live Jake and Elwood!
So many great scenes, Two that spring to mind.
“I hate Illinois Nazis”
And this brief shot of the certified speedometer needle hovering over the 120 mark.
These two scenes also feature the glorious sound of the 440 cubic inch plant.
New Oldsmobile’s Are in Early this year…
CHP used Monacos and LAPD used the downsized Belvederes. I turned 16 in 71 and just started driving so I made a point of learning the headlight and turn indicators of those cars in the dark. I seemed to get more than my share of speeding tickets. The 73 oil crisis ruined just about everything in the US especially the domestic auto industry, and it took years for us to get over it, in ways we still haven’t gotten past that very dark time in America. The CHP and local police always used Chrysler products in their fleets so it didn’t seem like all of a sudden they all started using Mopars. Chrysler’s styling has always been questionable, definitely not for everyone, but I liked it. Say what you will, those big Dodge Monacos had the 440 cid under the hood and with Chrysler’s torsion bar front suspension, they handled great and had plenty of power, a great fit for law enforcement. Movies like the Blues Brothers did nothing for me, in fact I found them embarrassing. At the time it was all part of the Saturday Night Live hipe. I did like the show, the movie not so much. I always associated those big Dodges with the establishment so I felt they were golden. I blame that 73 oil crisis for a lot of the 70s American downturn. The thriving US auto industry was one of our biggest, strongest industries, and they employed hundreds of thousands of people in the US and the world. Then all of a sudden the cars weren’t selling, and the trickle down effected our entire economy. US Steel was the biggest Steel manufacturer in the world, GM was the biggest auto manufacturer in the world, then Ford and Chrysler. That all changed in the late 70s. It happened so fast it left us in a tailspin, and for what? Better gas mileage. It became very popular to bash American cars, and it took its emotional toll on the entire country. Detroit became a ghost town as employees left to find other jobs. The auto industry paid very well especially for uneducated Americans that came from all over the country. They could never find high paying jobs to take the place of the auto industry with it’s union supported salaries. It changed everything, businesses and people. Everyone blamed Detroit for building bad cars. It wasn’t Detroits fault. Yes the manufacturers made boatloads of money, but they were building the cars Americans wanted and the 1950s was when it all began. We wanted big powerful, beautiful cars the way we wanted them, and no one was asking for better gas mileage. Overnight the Big Three were wrong, just remember the American people have to shoulder some of the blame. The cars were beautiful works of art, the Big Three were very profitable and everyone was happy, until they weren’t. So, now everyone drives foreign little grey econo boxes that have no presence. We need to change that, it’s not too late, it’s never too late to do the right thing. As for me? I never stopped buying American cars, Fords and Chryslers, GM not so much, they need to realize they are an auto manufacturer and start building cars that show that they know. It’s not too late, not even for GM. I want to drive a beautiful American car that is efficient, reliable and in beautiful colors and style. Don’t we all?
I too fondly remember the Blues Brothers, thank you for all the clips .
Interesting how many of the cop cars have no fuel tanks .
-Nate
Spent years restoring a FHP Gran Fury. What a bomb.
Well if destroying Chrysler products on film is the name of the game. None did it better than Dukes of Hazard. Especially the Fury police cars Roscoe and which ever deputy the season had on. But a fair number of chargers got crunched. And in the early days a Monaco or two as I remember.
Had a Gran Fury I bought at auction from the FBI. Was told by the Garage man that the car was “just never right”. It was three years old and clean. Well he was right. Maybe it was under water but everything from the door locks to the wiper linkage to the spark advance was a nightmare. But it looked good black on black with Armor-all on the one-piece vinyl seats. Even if I did need a distributor wrench to start the thing.